How to Be a Conscious Eater

account interface enabled her and her meat-loving husband to

go meatless on the three nights a week they use the service. In

other words, meal kits have a way of normalizing certain types

of eating, which could go a long way toward shifting our food

culture for the better.

WINNER: Meal kit

TALLYING IT ALL TOGETHER: MEAL KITS EDGE OUT

OTHER LIKELY DINNER HABITS

If meal kits call to you, and you can afford their high per-

person cost—usually still lower than comparable takeout or

dining out, but not as cheap as regular cooking—here are some

ideas for giving them an even greater upper hand:

Choose the services that use better packaging. Look

for reusability, recyclability, compostability, and less

packaging overall. The website themealkitreview.com has

a nice breakdown of the most “eco-friendly” meal kit

companies. Its ranking: Green Chef, HelloFresh, and Sun

Basket as the top three.

Choose services that are transparent about their

sourcing. Do they support women-owned businesses?

Organic? Fair trade? Local farmers? Meat from animals

raised without antibiotics? Sustainable seafood? BPA-

free packaging? Decide what values you would most

want reflected in the ingredients if you were buying

them yourself—these companies are now your grocery

shopping proxies, after all.

Give the vegetarian or vegan plans a whirl. You’ll be

lowering your environmental footprint while you vary

your patterns.

Stuff that Comes from Factories 219

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